Box Office Update: ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Hit Major Milestones

Thanks to the Labor Day weekend, 2012's two biggest blockbusters have hit major box office milestones, cementing them in the record books for the foreseeable future. As if they weren't happy enough, everyone involved with 'The Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' must be sending champagne baskets to each other right now.

First, let's take a look at 'The Dark Knight Rises,' which has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the international box office, making it only the thirteenth film in history to do so. With $1,005,200,000 to its name, it's the twelfth highest grossing film of all time, narrowly overtaking its predecessor, 'The Dark Knight' (which ended its run with $1,003,000,000 in the bank). Those are a lot of zeroes, folks. While 'The Dark Knight Rises' has outgrossed the last Batman movie on an international scale, it's about $100 million shy on the domestic gross. Some sources cite the Aurora shooting as a cause, but it could just as easily be the result of a more mixed reaction to the film amongst American audiences.

Speaking of billions, 'The Avengers' officially has 1.5 of them. A surprise re-release this weekend resulted in the film snagging another couple million bucks and settling on $1,501,800,000 worldwide, firmly cementing it as the third highest grossing movie of all time. As impressive as that number is (and to give you an idea of how impressive it is, the next film under it is 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,' which grossed $1.3 billion), spots two and three are firmly out of reach. 'Titanic' still holds the second slot with $2.1 billion and 'Avatar' is still number one with $2.7 billion.

For those keeping score at home, here are the thirteen films that have crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office: 'Avatar,' 'Titanic,' 'The Avengers,' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,' 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' 'Toy Story 3,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,' 'Alice in Wonderland,' 'The Dark Knight Rises' and 'The Dark Knight.'